This video portrays French exchange student Maeva Bonte as she tells about her experiences during her exchange semester at the School of Communication & Media at Hanze UAS.

The exchange programmes at the School of Communication & Media definitely stand out due to their high quality and very professional approach towards all fields of communication. The intense group work in multicultural teams refines intercultural skills and prepares students for the professional world. This challenging process is supported by Intercultural Competences classes that make students aware of cultural differences and help to overcome them effectively. I especially enjoyed the very encouraging and personal atmosphere at the school. There is a good balance between self-organized learning and individual monitoring and coaching. Every student can benefit from the regular coaching meetings which give direct feedback   on your work.

The theory classes are interdependent and the knowledge that is gained in one class often helps to improve your abilities in another. It is satisfying to be able to apply the research results of your own team in the creative process later on. We had a real client which was very motivating due to the trust that was already given to us.  The classes in communication theory, research, marketing and media skills offer a variety of skills and knowledge from which open-minded and truly interested students can only benefit.

I loved the multi-cultural environment at the School of Communication & Media. It was the first time for me to work together with people from different countries. I have made friends from all over the world and I learned a lot from them. Apart from exchanging knowledge, we shared our own cultures, ideas and thoughts.

During “Creating Communication Campaigns” we worked on projects for real clients. I consider this very useful for my future career. At Hanze UAS, students are encouraged to think critically. The course is challenging, the staff and teachers are friendly and professional, and Hanze UAS offers a pleasant learning environment.

Groningen is great! It is one of the best student cities in the Netherlands: about one-third of Groningen’s population consist of students. It’s definitely what I was looking for. Living in a city with so many young and energetic people and riding my bike to school every day (I was not used to this) was really enjoyable.

My exchange semester at Hanze UAS has been the greatest time of my life. I loved it here and I thank Hanze’s staff and students for making my exchange life such a memorable experience.

I came to Groningen because I like the Netherlands so much. I like the bikes, architecture, canals and green landscapes. I had heard that Groningen is a real international student city, and small compared to my home city (Madrid). This really appealed to me. When I came here, I realized that Groningen met my expectations and much more. It is a vibrant city full of students, kind Dutch people, cultural events and social activities. There is always something to do for students in Groningen.

During my semester at the School of Communication and Media, I have participated  in Creating Communication Campaigns, in which you have to solve a communication problem for a real client. Every subject is focused on giving you the tools and abilities to carry out the project successfully, and that gives you the opportunity to experience a professional workspace and to develop skills and attributes that will help you in the real world. Also, Hanze UAS allows you to work in a completely international environment, meeting people from all around the world, so at the same time I have also improved my English. When I get back home, I am sure I am going to miss the Hanze learning approach and the city of Groningen.

When I came to the School of Communication & Media to start my exchange semester in the Journalism programme I was surprised: we were with nine different nationalities in a class of thirty students. This intercultural mix was a challenge which we not only learned to love in class, but also in our leisure time. Although we were from different backgrounds, in the programme we worked together as ONE. Being from different countries and universities, everybody started at a different level of knowledge so we had to help each other. 

I appreciated the content of the lessons and the tasks: we had to create projects which were focused on Groningen’s city life. For that case we got to know the city, our colleagues and the journalistic work in a practical way.  It was great that we also had the opportunity to write for Hanze’s student magazine “HanzeMag”, to produce items for the radio show “HappyHourFM” and create content for the Journalism webpage “Justletmeknow.info.” All of us collected a lot of work samplings to take back home.

Within the minor I learned to work professional in different languages with people from different backgrounds. I think this experience is one of the most important for future journalists and it gave me courage, professionalism and, last but not least, new good friends from all over the world.